Exploring Liberty London

Liberty London has been around in one form or another since 1875, but it was the first time I’ve visited it. The mock-Tudor building with its dramatic dark beams was built in 1924, but in the middle of bustling London, it gives the impression of being much older. The department store is famous for its beautiful fabric, but I went along for one reason: to check out the yarn!

The yarn section is tucked away in a corner, in a nook with gorgeous natural light. Liberty stocks Rowan yarn, and to my disappointment… very few other brands. I walked away with some Rowan Worsted, and a ball of sock yarn – nothing else. I felt very restrained. I didn’t manage to get a pic of the yarns – there weren’t that many, unfortunately, although they had EVERY colour of Rowan, which was lovely to see.

Still, even if I didn’t walk away with a massive stash, the trip was worth it just to see the beautiful building! The store is arranged around massive lightwells…

Surrounded by little, homely rooms, packed with the most esoteric collection of goods you can imagine. Rugs from the far East; an antique chest of drawers hand-painted in tartan; and thousand and thousands of cushions. You could spend all day and not see everything: I didn’t even venture into the clothing section!

And the fabrics! There’s a reason why Liberty fabrics are so famous.

There was wall after wall of gorgeous patterns – I was quite glad I don’t have a sewing machine at the moment, otherwise I might have been there all day!

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I'm a kiwi living in Geneva. Knititng and crochet are just two of my passions! Read more about me. or working with me.